SwimMAC Carolina Men Break 17-18; 15-18 National Age Group Relay Records

On Wednesday night at the 2013 U.S. Open in Irvine, California, a foursome from SwimMAC Carolina crushed a National Age Group Record in the men’s 400 meter free relay. No, they didn’t finish first, or even in the top three, but their 6th-place relay was the highest placer that didn’t use any college or professional swimmers.

All 18 years old, Kyle Darmody, Michael Chadwick, John (Jack) Manchester, and Matthew Josa combined for a 3:23.91. That breaks both the 17-18 and 15-18 National Age Group Records, which had been a tie between two different relays.

In 2004, a Longhorn Aquatics relay that included Caleb McDermott, Daniel Rohleder, Michael Klueh, and Garrett Weber-Gale were a 3:26.15, and then again in 2011 another Texas relay of Luke Shaw, Fredrick Lemaistre, Tyler Stevenson, and John Murray from Alamo Area Aquatics tied that mark.

But the boys from SwimMAC has cleared that tie right off of the books. Their splits:

Darmody – 50.27
Chadwick – 51.29
Manchester – 51.93
Josa – 50.42.

All four of these swimmers will be off to college next year: Darmody to Auburn, Chadwick to Mizzou, Manchester to Harvard, and Josa to Division II Queens University. This week may ultimately be the last time they swim together as a relay, and it was surely be the last time they swim together as an 18 & under relay, but what they’ve done to the record books is astonishing. They own all five 15-18 and all five 17-18 NAG Records in yards, and now add this long course record to boot.

Follow all of the U.S. Open coverage on the U.S. Open page.